[Paper Review] Image-based investigation of the zebrafish developmental process using in vivo dynamic and multi-contrast optical coherence tomography
This study uses in vivo dynamic OCT with polarization-sensitive OCT and OCT angiography to monitor zebrafish development from 2 weeks to 12 months, revealing vascular, spinal, and skin stripe dynamics without labels.
We demonstrate in vivo dynamic optical coherence tomography (DOCT) imaging of zebrafish development from 2 weeks to 12 months post-fertilization, integrated with polarization-sensitive OCT (PS-OCT), OCT angiography (OCTA), and histological validation. Two DOCT algorithms were utilized: logarithmic intensity variance and late OCT correlation decay speed, which characterize the occupancy of dynamic scatterers and their motion speeds, respectively. Our results show that skin stripes exhibit high DOCT signals and it varies among the pigment-cell types. Furthermore, the combination of DOCT and PS-OCT captures the maturation of these stripes. In addition, DOCT and OCTA successfully visualized the developmental progression of blood and lymphatic vessels, as well as spinal tissues.
Motivation & Objective
- Investigate dynamic tissue processes during zebrafish development using DOCT in vivo.
- Integrate DOCT with PS-OCT, OCTA, and histology for multi-contrast assessment.
- Characterize dynamic activities in skin stripes, vasculature, and spine across developmental stages.
- Provide motion-corrected, depth-resolved visualizations of developmental events.
- Validate OCT-based findings with histological observations.
Proposed method
- Use a swept-source Jones-matrix OCT system at 1.3 μm with 50,000 A-lines/s.
- Acquire 32-frame DOCT sequences and 4-frame MOT/OCTA scans for each location.
- Compute DOCT contrasts LIV (logarithmic intensity variance) and OCDS_l (late OCT correlation decay speed).
- Generate pseudo-color HSV overlays combining OCT intensity with LIV or OCDS_l.
- Produce OCTA and DOPU images for vascular and polarization contrasts.
- Apply bulk-motion correction on the 32-frame sequences and compute slab projections for depth-resolved visualization.
Experimental results
Research questions
- RQ1How do dynamic tissue processes evolve in zebrafish skin, vasculature, and spine during development from 2 weeks to 12 months?
- RQ2Can DOCT signals (LIV and OCDS_l) distinguish vascular and lymphatic maturation and pigment stripe formation in vivo?
- RQ3What are the depth- and stage-specific DOCT signatures of key anatomical structures in zebrafish?
- RQ4How does multi-contrast OCT (DOCT, PS-OCT, OCTA, DOPU) correlate with histology across development?
Key findings
| Vessel type | LIV | OCDS_l |
|---|---|---|
| MBV | High | Low |
| ISV | High | High |
| SLV | Moderate | High |
- DOCT signals reveal larval-to-juvenile vascular remodeling, with intersegmental vessels showing high LIV and OCDS_l while major blood vessels show high LIV but low OCDS_l due to fast flow.
- Stripe formation in skin corresponds with co-localized high LIV and OCDS_l regions and aligns with dark/light stripe patterns and DOPU changes.
- Spinal cord dynamics shift: early widespread OCDS_l declines to dorsal localization as development progresses, indicating dorsal-ventral neuronal activity differences.
- OCTA visualizes evolving vascular networks; higher attenuation at deeper depths in adults reduces DOCT sensitivity for underlying structures.
- Concurrent histology confirms DOCT-identified structures and their developmental progression, validating the multi-contrast approach.
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This review was created by AI and reviewed by human editors.